A Good Boyfriend
by ThatApolloGirl
Summary: This is just my version of how James and Lily got together. It revolves more around the effort it took James to get her to agree on a date (we can all agree that would take a lot). And where would this dear couple be without a little help from their friends? Follow James, Lily, & Co. through their 6th year at Hogwarts, and James' last attempts to win her heart. T for later language


**How To Be a Good Boyfriend**

**This is just a little guide to girls for all the guys out there, I'll change it into Harry Potter form so it can go on the website. Good luck, all you guys who use this! CFC**

**"**Aargh!" James groaned, collapsing into a chair by the fire in the Gryffindor common room. Remus and Sirius looked up from their game of Exploding Snap, which Peter was watching in awe. "No luck, Prongs?" Remus asked, his face sympathetic. "Course not," Sirius snorted, "She's still Evans, isn't she? And last I heard, Grimmauld Place isn't covered in ice, so obviously hell hasn't frozen over."

"Harsh, Padfoot," Remus commented, "A guy can dream, can't he?"

"Nah, Prongs over there needs a wake-up call," Sirius responded. "Evans has made it quite clear. 'The answer is _no,_ Potter. It always has been, is, and always will be. So eff off.'" He said, his voice rising in pitch, so as to "match" a girl's tone of voice. James groaned again, his face hidden behind his hands.

"C'mon, mate," Remus said, patting his shoulder. "It can't be that bad."

"It is," James muttered. "God she's beautiful when she's trying to murder me..." His eyes grew unfocused as he drifted off into Lily-Land again.

"Oh boy," Sirius groaned. "There he goes again. He seriously needs help."

"You know what," Remus mused, "I think I know what he needs. Let me just go get Gwen..." Remus dashed off for his girlfriend, leaving his friends wondering after him. Remus was the only one with a steady girlfriend, Sirius not wanting to keep one for more then three days, Peter being generally unliked by girls, and James for obvious reasons, so he must know what to do.

"I'm baa-aack!" Remus sang, waltzing into the room with Gwenog Jones, his girlfriend, in a strangely bouncy mood that only seemed to occur when Gwen was around.

"All right," Gwen said, settling down in another armchair, "What do you want?" Gwenog Jones ("Gwen" to her friends, "Sweet" to Remus) was a fairly tall girl with brown hair, hazel-green eyes, fair skin, great taste in clothes, and was Quidditch Captain, playing Keeper for Gryffindor. A sixth-year like the Marauders and Lily, she was one of Lily's best friends, along with Alice Prewett, Sophia Martinez, and Fiona Cekie. Although they were many, they were almost more tight-knit than the Marauders themselves, and knew each other like sisters. If anyone knew the answer to James' little Lily problem, it was one of them.

"James here," replied Remus, "Needs a bit of girl advice."

"What, is he PMSing?" James looked horrorstruck while Sirius and Peter had fallen out of their chairs laughing, and Remus snorted.

"Nope. He is seriously in love with Lily, but there is a small mater of her hating his guts and wanting to hex him into oblivion if he opens his mouth within a twelve-meter radius of her."

"Ohhh... yeah that might be a problem. Luckily for you, I know just what you need to do."

"What?!" James cried, "I'll do anything!"

"Weellll..." replied Gwen, "I can give you lessons... just meet me in the Transfiguration classroom at eight on Tuesday. I'll tell you everything you need to know."

* * *

**Transfiguration Room, 8:00 pm, Tuesday**

"Alright, first up," Gwen barked, a whistle dangling around her neck, as the Marauders assembled in front of her, "Is how to get her to trust you."

"Umm," Sirius asked, "Why the whistle?"

"It makes me feel like authority." Gwen replied, "Any more questions?" When there was no reply, she continued on with her lesson.

"Well, I guess you've gathered by now that Lily thinks you're an arrogant prick who hexes people for fun, teases innocent kids, and is generally a pain in the arse. Well, no more! James, from now on, you are not to hex _anyone_ without good reason. Meaning an excuse fit for McGonagall cos Lily is damn near as strict. You are to pay attention in class, not pick fights with Slytherins (even Snape)-"

_"WHAT!" _James yelled, "After what he did to her? I'd think she'd be thankful!"

"No, actually," replied Gwen, "In some twisted way, she somehow thinks their falling-out was partly your fault."

"_HOW_?"

"She figures if you hadn't hoisted him up by his ankle, he wouldn't have needed her help, so he wouldn't have called her that."

"But he tried to-"

"I'm not saying it wasn't his fault," Gwen interrupted calmly, "She just doesn't want to blame her ex-best friend. They've known each other since they were ten years old, can you believe that? And if, say, Sirius were to turn Dark, would you blame him? No! You'd blame whoever you thought caused him to become Dark. You see?"

"All right," James admitted grudgingly, "I get her point. But what can I do?"

"You can stop antagonizing him, and picking fights with other students. It wouldn't hurt to show off less, in class and out. That way she'll start to trust you. After awhile, you can maybe politely ask for her help in Potions or Charms, she's brilliant at those. Oh, and for God's sake, _stop asking her out!_"

"And how long until this takes effect?"

"Oh, a couple months"

"WHAT?!"

"Well you can hardly blame her, she's hated you for so long."

"I know, but still! So long!"

"Well, take it or leave it, I guarantee it'll help you."

"Of course I'll take it! This is Lily we're talking about!"

"Perfect," Gwen declared, satisfied. "Just remember everything I told you, and just give her space for awhile. The bad boy image doesn't work on her. Don't date anyone else. Don't pick fights, don't show off in class or Quidditch, stop messing up your hair, pull _funny_ and _harmless_ pranks, not _mean _ones, don't hex Snape, and whatever you do, _DON'T ASK HER OUT! _That's about it, Remus wrote it down for you, right love?" This question was directed at Remus.

"Got it all right here, sweet." Remus smiled shyly.

"God, not the pet names," Sirius gagged, "Those two are gonna give me indigestion!" He looked over at James, but he had that unfocused look on his that told the world that he was, once again, lost in Lily-Land.

"They've all abandoned me!" Sirius cried, mock-wounded, "Fine. I'm going to bed." He marched out the door.

"And by bed, I mean the kitchens," he called over his shoulder as he spun and reversed his direction in the corridor, "Follow me if you can get your lovesick heads out of your arses!"

"HEY!" James and Remus cried in unison as Sirius dashed down the corridor towards the kitchens, cackling madly. "Bye-love-see-you-soon!" Remus called over his shoulder before joining the mad dash for food.

"Those boys," Gwen chuckled, shaking her head. _Oh God, I sound like Mum!_ she thought, horrified. Then she sprinted for Gryffindor Tower, to tell Sophia and Fiona what had happened.

* * *

**Gryffindor Tower, Girl's Dorm, 10:00 pm, Tuesday**

"He actually agreed to change?" asked Sophia Martinez, a short-ish girl with pink braces, dark hair and eyes, and tan skin with a few acne scars. "I thought it wasn't possible!" Soph was not on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, being more inclined to study, and her best subject was Transfiguration.

"Well obviously he has," Fiona Cekie reminded her, "This is Lily we're talking about. He's completely obsessed with her, even I can see it!" Fiona was a bit taller than Gwen, with light brown hair, blue eyes, and fair skin with a bit of acne. She played Quidditch, a Chaser, and loved Care of Magical Creatures. Fi was less inclined towards gossip, so if even she noticed something like that, it really was obvious.

"Anything for his precious Lily-Flower!" Gwen giggled, flopping back onto her bed. Lily had a Prefect meeting to attend, so she wasn't with them at the moment.

"What I want to know," said Alice Prewett, a sweet brunette with brown eyes, of average height, "Is how long it'll last." Alice might be sweet, but she was quite shrewd when it came to judging people. Her best class was Transfiguration, and she was quite good at it, right up there with James. She played Seeker on the Quidditch team, and was a very valuable player.

"How long what'll last?" asked a familiar voice, and a very familiar redhead walked into the room. Sophia shrieked and fell off the bed, while Fiona laughed at her.

"Just the highlights I put in my hair the other day," said Gwen. After so many years of Quidditch, she was the best under pressure. "Alice heard about them somewhere, said they were kinda dodgy." Alice nodded with a barely concealed smirk on her face.

"And why did Sophie dearest scream and fall off the bed?"

"She was having a spaz attack."

"Ohhhhh..." Sophia was renowned for her completely random hysterical fits of laughter in somewhat funny situations. If you get her laughing, you won't be able to stop her. The girls called these "spaz attacks" because that's what the resident "mean girl" had called Soph while they were still on the train as first-years: a spaz.

"Anyway," Lily shifted gears into her "angrily ranting about James" mode. "You will not _believe_ what Potter did today!"

"Probably not." Alice muttered under her breath. Lily shot her a glare, but kept on with the ranting. At this stage, it was dangerous to stop her.

"- and then, they completely vandalized the Great Hall! I mean they actually drew graffiti all over the walls, and it said stuff like 'MARAUDERS RULE', 'HOMEWORK IS RUBBISH', and a whole bunch of other crap! How immature can you get?"

"How indeed?" Alice murmured faintly. They had all realized early on that during Lily's rants, it was best to not look completely bored, because then she had a tendency to shun you, but it was hard not to. The rants were all based off of one thing: the Marauder's latest prank, so they all pretty much followed the same format.

"Well," Fi said, cutting Lily off smoothly right when she stopped to take a breath, "I think it's time we go to bed now." A quick glance at her pocket-watch revealed that it was, after all, 10:47 pm, and girls need their sleep. That night left them in their beds, wondering what the next day would bring.

* * *

**Hello! I hope you like this one! For any guys who happened to read this for girl info, don't get mad at me. That part's coming soon, when James gets to the "actually asking her out for real" stage. Anyone who's concerned about my other story, I've had a bit of writer's block about that one, so I thought it best to start a new story and wait for inspiration. I actually based my OCs (Sophia and Fiona) off of two of my best friends, so it's easier to write their characters. Please review? I need to know how I'm doing! Love ya'll! CFC**


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